WomenNC’s mission is to lead North Carolina’s young adults in the elimination of injustice against women and girls. Our vision is to raise a generation that will honor women’s human rights. This blog follows the experiences of our talented fellows. Enjoy reading about their journeys!

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Thoughts from C6

Gate C6. LaGuardia International Airport. Fellows and
chaperons alike sit slumped in lounge chairs like wilted bouquets of parched roses.
However, while our physical comportment may appear to be weary, our hearts and
minds have been nourished and rejuvenated by a week of intense stimulation and
non-stop action.

Through sessions, receptions and panel events, we have been
able to connect our research to broader thematic issues in the area of women’s
human rights both domestically and internationally. On my part, my CSW
experience became largely focused on men’s involvement in preventing violence,
the Post-2015 Agenda and, surprisingly, a very strong Latin America and
Canadian focus. Through connections in Brazil, I was able to meet with the Brazilian
Undersecretary for Women and discuss continued efforts to eradicate gender-based
violence in-country, especially in underserved urban regions. Unexpectedly, CSW
also catalyzed an interest in urban spaces—issues I have long regarded as
critical, but whose impacts on gender and women’s human rights I have only
recently come to understand. Alongside this, upcoming and current “threat
multipliers” to global crises such as climate change were a topic I pursued at
CSW with much zeal.

Other issues of a more technical nature also came to the
fore. For instance, during one of the High Level Panels, many subject-matter
experts spoke about the extreme need of gender-dis-aggregated data in the
Post-2015 Development Agenda. Highlighting the need for a “data revolution” in
development that allows important stakeholders to make decisions about their
development without relying on the often manipulated data that emerges from the
governments engaged on both sides of the development equation; donor and aid-recipient
alike. Of further importance, of course, is actually engaging vulnerable populations like women and children in crafting
decision-making processes within development that are empowerment. As Sharon Bhagwn-Rolls
from Fiji put it so eloquently, “women have the right to define development, not merely to be the beneficiaries of.”

The subject areas I covered were of an incredibly diverse
nature. Ranging from sessions analyzing Uruguay’s progress in reaching MDG 2
and 5 to a multimedia presentation that focused on “goddess iconography” throughout
human history—the diversity was immense. This underscores CSW as a whole and
probably the way each of us as advocates and activists has grown and changed.

Thank you for accompanying us on this personal and professional journey. We look forward to connecting with all of you individually over the coming weeks as we share the lessons learned and reflect on our time at CSW and, indeed, throughout the fellowship as a whole.

1 comment:

Max, I admire the stamina you and your colleagues have shown. Fascinating and complex topics, so many facets. However, I am glad you are focused on urban women, and also on the need for gender-disaggregated data. The tools are there now to gather useful data. Congratulations to you all on your valuable contributions to this year's CSW sessions. Allison Kirk-Montgomery